Gender Bender
by foodaddict
Summary: Yusuke goes on one last training trip with Genkai to China after he gets back from Makai. What happens when he takes a hit to the head and ends up falling into an ordinary looking pool that turns out to be more than what it looks like. Ranma Parody, R&R!
1. READ THE SIGNS!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own YYH—wish I did, but since I don't, whatever ideas I get go here and not into the actual anime...(sigh)...

**Summary**: Yusuke goes on one last training trip with Genkai to China after he gets back from Makai. What happens when he takes a hit to the head and ends up falling into an ordinary-looking pool that turns out to be more than what it looks like. Ranma Parody, please R&R!

**Pairings**: Yusuke/Keiko is the only clear thing for now. :D Or is it? ;;) Hehe—you'll have to find out! XP

**Rating**: T for language—just to be safe. :D

Chapter 1

READ THE SIGNS!

The blazing midday sun was relentless, the azure sky shimmering with the heat. Away from the heavy pollution of the clogged industrial cities, the air swirling about in the mountains was cleaner—but no less unbearable as it did not spread and simply swirled about. Thus the heat did not disperse, and for those who were training below, it added to the brutality of the experience.

At least it did for one of them.

The unbelievably small, bony old woman wiped away the sweat pooling on her brow with the back of her hand, her tired old eyes scanning the murky blue depths of the pool below. She shifted onto her left foot on the pole she was balancing on, which rose from the depths of the said pool. Around her were countless of other poles and their respective pools—the marked trait of the final training ground she had chosen for her favorite student and herself.

After this, there would be no more. At least, not for her.

The weight of her impending doom settled over her heart again and she felt impatience rise in her chest.

"Yusuke!" she barked, her voice sounding harsher and unnaturally cracked in her own ears. She glared down at the pool where she had seen him fall, not believing for a minute that he was seriously harmed. "I didn't hit you that hard! Stop fooling around and get out here!"

She was met with silence and she grit her teeth, crouching and preparing to leap into the water and drag him out.

_Lazy fool is probably just hiding from the heat_, she thought irritably, yanking up her sleeves.

"Um...excuse me, Ma'am?"

She stopped, blinking in surprise and turning her head to her left, where a middle-aged man was peering worriedly at her, fanning himself lightly with one hand. Dressed in a guard's uniform, it appeared as though he had run a long distance in great haste.

"Yes?" she asked, surprised to find that he was speaking Japanese.

He cleared his throat, straightening and fiddling with his cap. "I'm sorry to bother you in the middle of your training, Ma'am, but the guards at the main gate said that Japanese fighters were in the vicinity, and as I'm the only one who can speak Japanese, they sent me to speak with you." He looked around anxiously. "By any chance, have you started your training? Where is your companion? The guards mentioned a young man was traveling with you."

"My student." Genkai poked her thumb in the direction of the pool. "Skinny dipping, I assume. He won't come out. Why?" she asked sharply. "Is there something wrong here that we should know?"

"Oh dear," the guard whispered, approaching the edge of the pool and looking into it. "This is not good...not good at all."

Her heart constricting, Genkai abandoned her position on the pole and landed on the soft ground next to him.

"What's the matter?" she demanded, not liking how he hovered about the edge. "If my student is in danger—"

"It's too late, if he's fallen in." Catching the blazing expression on the old woman's face he hastily reassured her. "He'll live, to be sure, but once he gets out he'll never be the same."

Her temper rising with her worry, she put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean?"

The guard looked at her testily, abandoning his searching when he saw no sign of a body near the edge.

"Ma'am, I realize you're not from around here, but surely if you've come here you know something about the nature of these training grounds."

"I was brought here as a child to train, and the nature of the area helped me improve a great deal. A few of my companions fell into several pools on occasion, and none of them were worse for it."

"This is a site of cursed pools, Ma'am. In each cursed pool a certain being has drowned, but not all of the pools in the area are thus. It's why we've marked the cursed pools so that fighters who train in the area know the risks of falling in. See?" He pointed to a sign that was propped between two bushes, a few feet from the edge of the pool. "Oh, they should've sent for me before allowing you in! I'm pretty sure you don't read Mandarin if you missed it."

Resisting the urge to shake him so that he got to the point, she looked at the sign he was indicating. "What does it read?"

He sighed wearily, pulling off his cap and fiddling with it in his hands. " 'Cursed Pool of a Drowned Girl.'"

---

_"Hey, Yusuke! Have I caught you at a bad time?"_

So much for technology_, Yusuke thought irritably as the line got fuzzy and even with his exceptionally fine hearing he had to strain to hear his fiancée's voice. Pressing the receiver more firmly against his ear, he shot the noisy couple outside the phone booth a glare._

_"Keiko, I should be asking_ you _that," he laughed, the very thought of Keiko in her home, twirling the phone's cord as she spoke dispelling all gloom and effects of minor aggravations from his heart and mind. "Rush hour must be picking up over there by now."_

_"They can wait," she answered dismissively, and Yusuke—not for the first time since he'd arrived in China—felt an overpowering urge to hop a plane home. He'd just gotten back from Makai, for crying out loud!_

_But Genkai had asked him._

_And at this point in time, he was willing to grant whatever Genkai asked of him. Outwardly, she was still the same tough old granny who kicked his ass in video games and reality...except that her scent had changed now. The scent had cut through the joy of seeing her again when they'd gone back to Genkai's home from the beach, crushing the euphoria of seeing his surrogate grandmother for the first time in three years._

_She now smelled just like Raizen...months before it had happened. _

Genkai is dying.

_He cleared his throat uncomfortably, pushing away the thought that sent a grim bolt of aching sadness into his heart. _

_"So," Keiko was saying, "when are you going to be home?"_

_"It depends—Genkai hasn't really been clear. Heck, we aren't even bunking anywhere tonight, and we just got here four hours ago! She wants to go straight to this place...I keep forgetting the name...er...what's important is that it's this supposedly cool training site for martial artists. She told me she was brought there a long time ago, before she even became a spirit master."_

_"That must be a really long time then. Listen, Yusuke...about Genkai—"_

---

_Genkai._

The old woman's face flashed in his mind for a moment—in the middle of a battle cry as her foot slammed into his gut and her fist swelled before his eyes as she sent it crashing into his forehead.

_Barbaric old granny!_

His eyes snapped open and he realized that he was underwater. Above him the light broke into thousands of prisms and around him he felt the refreshing bite of cold water on his hot skin. Unfortunately, he also felt it filling his nose and throat, felt himself choking on it as he tried to wave his heavy limbs, wondering how long he'd been knocked out if he was in this bad a shape. His feet were submerged in the thick mud at the bottom of the pool and he knew struggled to free them furiously, adamantly refusing to part with his newest Nike pair. His chest was tightening agonizingly and he knew that if he didn't get out soon, he'd be dead.

Yusuke Urameshi, Champion of the Dark Tournament, former acclaimed Spirit Detective, and Heir to Raizen, former Ruler of Makai—a goner because he took a hit in the head and drowned in a pool that was—what?—ten? Twenty feet deep?

_No fucking way._

Gathering his strength and zoning out the pain and the weight that pressed in on him, he focused on the light and gave kicked himself upwards, his arms helping to propel himself further up as the mud clung to his feet, taking away some of the strength of the first impact. He saw the light strength, felt hope burst in his chest even as water seeped into his lungs, pain knifing him cruelly in the chest. He grit his teeth, kicking again just as he gave way, his mouth opening despite himself and taking in water.

And air.

He gasped, gargling, choking and swallowing the water almost as much as the sharp, humid air that surrounded him. Still half-blind from the lack of oxygen and from the water filling his eyes, he took a minute to calm himself, pull himself together. He was very certain that he'd almost died, and the thought was filling him with delayed panic even as his body recovered from the aftershocks and he began coughing most of the water out and clearing his nasal passages as he sneezed repeatedly.

Blinking, after a few moments of this and he could more or less breathe normally, he realized that he was facing two people at the edge of the pool. Genkai and a Chinese man who was dressed very much like a guard. Temper blazing at the sight of the old lady who had nearly killed him, he swam his way resolutely to the edge—which wasn't very far away—and prepared to resume the fight. He felt his feet hit the slope of land that led out of the pool and began trudging out, wincing with every splotchy step as he recalled the pristine whiteness of his new shoes.

_Damn old woman...Keiko bought me these..._

Stopping when the water hit his ankles, he glared at her.

"Oy, you bloodthirsty old hag! You _do_ realize that you almost killed me! What the hell were you thinking, knocking me into the pool!"

He froze, looking around sharply for any other person—Where the hell had that voice come from?—before his eyes widened and a shaking, surprisingly fine hand lifted before his eyes and flew to his throat.

"Oh my God," he whispered, seeing for the first time the horrified look in Genkai's eyes. "_Was that...WAS THAT **ME!**"_

**Further Author's Notes: **What did you think? (-) It might seem a bit rushed—I don't know, you'll have to tell me. R&R, okay? If you read this, I really would appreciate a review—even if it's a quick "I like" or "I don't like". Thanks in advance! XP


	2. Yusuka?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own YYH—wish I did, but since I don't, whatever ideas I get go here and not into the actual anime...(sigh)...

**Summary**: Yusuke goes on one last training trip with Genkai to China after he gets back from Makai. What happens when he takes a hit to the head and ends up falling into an ordinary-looking pool that turns out to be more than what it looks like. Ranma Parody, please R&R!

**Pairings**: Yusuke/Keiko is the only clear thing for now. :D Or is it? ;;) Hehe—you'll have to find out! XP

**Rating**: T for language—just to be safe. :D

**Author's Notes: **Thank you very, very much to the people who reviewed! I know I'm not allowed to post the thank-you-s here, so I won't, for fear of this story being deleted and your wonderful comments being in vain. Here's the update—honestly, I didn't think I'd have it out so fast, but you've inspired me, so to all my reviewers, thanks! This one's for you. :P XP

By the way, there's a physical description of Yusuke here that you might not appreciate—let me know, okay? I was just putting myself in character here—exactly _which_ part of yourself would you check out if you woke up in a body from the opposite sex? ;D Looking forward to your reviews! XP

Chapter 2

Yusuk—a?

"Oh..._oh!_ _No fucking way!"_

The girl standing before Genkai shrieked, clutching at her throat as though someone was strangling her. Her eyes bugged out and she splashed wildly about, slipping to her knees on the soft bank as she choked from her own ministrations. Genkai herself was at a loss for words. Surely this couldn't be...?

"_Genkai!"_ the girl shrieked, wild—_familiar_—brown eyes latching onto her own. _"Genkai, what happened to me!"_

The tone Genkai recognized—the lilting, melodic voice she did not.

"Yu—" Genkai swallowed, shaking herself and blinking for good measure before squinting closely at the girl. "Yusuke...?" But it _couldn't be!_

The girl looked at Genkai like she was insane—or being very mean. Still struggling to right herself and only succeeding in slipping further on the bank, she glowered deeply at her.

_"Of course, Yusuke! Who did you think I was!"_

Genkai stared. As odd as it seemed, who _did_ she think the girl before her was? No, she was nothing close to being a horrifyingly masculine female parody of Yusuke. But there was something about her—something that told Genkai that despite appearances, this was very much her student. It was just that he was in quite a different-looking body now.

If anything, he'd retained his coloring. Silky black hair stuck to the peachy-gold skin over the contours of a surprisingly pretty face, drifting down to stick to her arms and clinging to her torso like seaweed. Like the Yusuke she was familiar with, the face had only one strong feature: the blazing chocolate brown eyes that even in shape resembled almonds, arched black brows lifting over them to an intimidating effect. The nose was straight, but not particularly exceptional, the lips just right. The cheek bones stood out to just the right extent—making the eyes look more deep-set and only enhancing the effect of a hard, tough face.

The rest of her was also like Yusuke in a certain aspect. While not exactly big-boned or powerfully built, her body was far from skinny, being markedly compact and proportioned.

And now that she had managed to pull herself to her feet, she was taking on Yusuke's markedly aggressive stance. A breeze whipped up suddenly—stirred either by some strange occurrence of nature or by the impulsive and random spirit energy that was glowing around the girl like halo of blue light.

Genkai's eyes drifted over the toned muscles on the girl's arms as the wind lifted the dark hair away from the skin, raising the strands into the air around her. She followed the movement of the hair, then the taut planes of the girl's abdomen which were highlighted by the slick coating of moisture, onto—

Genkai, the calm, unshakeable spirit master swallowed hard for the second time that day. She was now thinking of Yusuke as a _she_—though with _those_ it was hard not to.

"Oy!" "Yusuke" yelled angrily, taking a step forward and sliding again, the aura around her dissipating and the false wind disappearing as cold water hit her in the face. She sputtered, coughing and splashing as sh—_he_—tried to pull her—_himself_—to his feet. "What are you staring at! Don't just stand and gawk there, _help me!"_

"You can't exactly blame her," the guard next to Genkai observed admiringly, his attention too fixed for him to properly answer Yusuke's question. "Those are particularly fine. I would know. I've seen countless young men fall into that pond and none of them have come out with a pair like that."

"_What! What are you talking about!"_

Yusuke followed the direction of their gazes, angry and more than a little unnerved, his chin dipping down sharply as he tensely regarded his—

_Breasts._

Belatedly, he realized how chilled he felt after falling into the pond. Though the sun beat down upon him anew, staving off most of the bite as it hurried to dry his soaked body, several parts of his anatomy were feeling decidedly more uncomfortable. For instance, the tips of his breasts, which were slightly puckered from the cold, water glistening on the dusky pink points of flesh.

_I have breasts._

His hands lifted of their own accord, experimentally cupping the soft mounds. A shiver of heat flashed through him and he hastily jerked his hands away as though he'd been burned, his cheeks flushing darkly. He had never felt that way except when he and Keiko were all over each other—and since he'd been the one doing most of the grabbi—er—_caressing_—he had yet to experience that degree of sensation simply by touching his chest.

_Is this what Keiko feels when I do that?_

"Genkai," he whispered stupidly, looking up at her with blank, bright eyes. "I have breasts."

"And a good deal more," the guard provided helpfully from beside his pale-faced, silent, and staring spirit master. "If you'll look down where your manhood used to be, you'll find—"

"That's enough!" Genkai snapped sharply, roused from her shocked stupor by the rounding out of Yusuke's eyes. She turned on the guard and visually beat him with censure. "You're not helping!"

"Well I _am_ trying!" the guard shot back defensively. "It doesn't seem to be occurring to him that by falling into the pool he's been turned into a woman, so I'm trying to help him realize it!"

"I've been turned...into a woman..." Yusuke took his words into consideration and looked down, where water still submerged him from the waist onwards. The words were so ludicrous, it seemed, but the very same rationality that insisted he was dreaming also relied on his senses and his intuition. And what he had felt when he'd cupped his breasts—he shivered again—what he _still_ felt from that cupping—as well as his gut intuition, told him that whatever this was, it was definitely not a dream.

If he...if he still had it...it wouldn't be too obvious when it was in cold water. Heck, cold water practically killed it unless he was in the water with Keiko...and even then it gave way to the chill, since he and Keiko never really got down to doing anything.

A hand drifted down into the cool depths of the pond and slowly he placed his hand against the part of him that the zipper of his jeans concealed.

_Nothing. _

_Nil._

"Oh my God," he whispered for the second time that day.

And then he did something that he'd never done in his life before.

Yusuke Urameshi fainted.

---

"This is not good," Genkai muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and staring broodingly over at the guard on the opposite side of Yusuke's bed, who had introduced himself as Ling.

"It's very inconvenient, yes," Ling agreed, mopping the cold sweat off of Yusuke's brow thoughtfully. "It's not surprising that he reacted this way—one young man actually had to be restrained when he kept on punching himself to wake himself up."

" 'Inconvenient' is the understatement of the century!" The old woman leaned forward to peer down into Yusuke's now feminine face. "He's engaged to girl back in Japan! How is he supposed to marry her now? Same-sex marriages aren't allowed over there yet!" Frustrated, she flicked a lock away from her student's face with unnecessary force, causing the said person to stir.

"...mmm..." She-Yusuke mumbled, twisting her head to the side as a frown marred her calm features.

"And even if they were," Genkai continued in a much softer voice, her small hand reaching forward again to gently smooth the skin over Yusuke's brow, "how do you think this is going to affect his relationship with her? _I_ wouldn't be happy if I found out my fiancé became a woman!"

"Well, it's not like this is going to be _permanent_," Ling pacified lamely. Catching the look on her face, he corrected her to a crushing degree. "No—don't get me wrong—the curse isn't going to be broken by time only."

Genkai's elated face fell and she glared at him fiercely. "Clarify what you mean before you go on popping phrases like that!"

"_Sorry! Yeesh, you Japs are so touchy!" _When this comment earned him an even angrier stare, he raised his hands in front of him protectively. "Hey, calm down, okay? Killing me isn't going to help you bring your student back to the way he was—you'd be lucky if anyone even knew _how._ There have been rumors over the years of certain cursed people being cured, but we've yet to meet them and the reports are rather sketchy. What I _really_ meant was that there's a way to bring Yusuke back to his original form, but given the proper circumstances he will still turn into a girl."

Genkai nodded, showing she was listening. _He's right. I shouldn't be taking out my temper on him—he can help us, and right now there's so much that I need to know. Yusuke's definitely not going to be doing any rational thinking when he wakes up—or, for that matter, any time soon._

Ling gave her an appreciative glance for her pulling it together before going on with his lecture.

"The curse has to do with someone or something being drowned—therefore it's completely associated with water or any other fluid. Even the rumored cure is reported to be a liquid—a blessed spring, if you will. In any case, to bring Yusuke back to his male form, you only have to wet him with hot or boiling water—if you've got enough of it, dunking freshly brewed coffee or anything like that onto his head works too. If he gets hit or covered with any sort of cold liquid, however, he'll turn into a girl again, and so the curse goes."

"I see. So we'll be able to get him back, if only in part until we discover a cure." Genkai nodded again, internalizing and somehow finding herself comforted by this fact. It wasn't exactly great news, but knowing that Yusuke could still revert to the Yusuke she and everyone else knew...although there _would_ be problems. And the possibility of there being no cure...she shook herself, refusing to even consider it. If there was a curse, there would always be something that could break it. They just had to discover exactly _what_.

"I wouldn't be banking on that cure, Ma'am," Ling advised quietly. "Lots of others have, and it's brought them no good. Those that were happiest just accepted this as their fate and moved on with their lives, choosing to embrace it and simply cope with it."

Genkai smiled for the first time since the incident, a laughing gleam entering her surprisingly clear, sharp eyes.

"Well, you don't know Yusuke. He's _never_ been sensible."

"No," came a soft, cracked voice. If the lashes hadn't been so thick and fan-like, Genkai would have sworn she was looking down into Yusuke the _boy's_ eyes. "No...no, I'm not...aren't I?"

The smirk that accompanied it, however, was definitely Yusuke's.

**Further Author's Notes: **What do you think? ;D I know, it's still very short, and the next chapter will be, too, but I promise that by Chapter 4 it'll be nice and long—or at least long enough. :D That is, after all, when Yusuke's going to be meeting up with all his other buddies. I'm not sure—I've still got to get down to writing it. :D Bear with me, I know it must be dragging since he's not interacting with many people yet—I just need to set things up a little bit more and then the pulling the farce will be easy. :D Anyway, motivate me, people! XP I really do love having feedback—you guys are crafty ones, aren't you? You just copied and pasted the "I like" in the chapter and put it in your reviews. :D

Anyway, here's me attempting to cheat and go around ruling about posting at the top of the chapters. :D You guys are such babes, it's worth the risk. XP

_Kenshin-Battosai:_ Thank you! XP Um...this chapter is _slightly_ longer...by four paragraphs, hehe! ;P Don't kill me, I promise to make it up to you. :D Mwah! XD

_gillian-raine:_ I did—now you do the same and leave me a review. XP Thankies! XD

_aya-kun: _Wow, you guys are such loyal readers to read everything I post, so yes, I'll update the others soon! ;P I'm glad you really liked it—this chapter isn't as funny (unless you're a bit of a perv...like me...ehehehe... XP ), I think—I dunno. XD I'm not sure if everyone will see the humor, hehe. XP Hope you enjoyed—either way, let me know! ;P

_Inari's angel: _Bwahaha, they'll regret the day we ever became their fans—look, there goes Yuki!

Yuki: Grrr...it's bad enough I have to change into a rat! Now I have to become a _girl?_

'Addict: Heehee...probably because you look it... :runs away screaming as Yuki jumps at her with a knife:...:ten minutes later:...:gasp: Finally lost him! Yuki is so touchy these days...anyway, thanks for reviewing! **To everyone who wants to read more of our favorite characters getting turned into members of the opposite sex, check out Inari's angel's profile and read "My Life as Ayaa chan" and it's near-twin—my story "Mistaken Identity." Shameless plug, I know—don't kill me. :D **

_Mirakuru Rein: _I like...YOU! Ehehe, excuse me...I do tend to be all over people sometimes. XP Thanks for reviewing—I hope to hear more from you after this chapter. :D

_To everyone else who's read this: _Please leave a review! ;P Or send me an e-mail! _Kiss me! Just let me know you're there! _

:THWACK:

Yuki: You've got no issues with begging, do you? Now delete that "YUUUKIIII-CHAN!" document on your desktop right now—you're starting to sound like Ayame!


	3. Dealing With It

**Disclaimer**: I don't own YYH—wish I did, but since I don't, whatever ideas I get go here and not into the actual anime...(sigh)...

**Summary**: Yusuke goes on one last training trip with Genkai to China after he gets back from Makai. What happens when he takes a hit to the head and ends up falling into an ordinary-looking pool that turns out to be more than what it looks like. Ranma Parody, please R&R!

**Pairings**: Yusuke/Keiko is the only clear thing for now. :D Or is it? ;;) Hehe—you'll have to find out! XP

**Rating**: T for language—just to be safe. :D

**Author's Note:** I'm so, so, _so_ sorry for having this update out so late! Truth be told, I hit a writer's block in the plot for a few months parallel to a weekly truck-load of personal problems and schoolwork, so I hope you understand. I wondered if I should skip over to a certain scene then flesh it out, but I decided to build up to it instead, and it had me rewriting for quite a while. Despite that, this chapter's rather short and introspective, so I understand if you find it a bit dragging. Let me know what you think and do hang on, guys! ;P I promise something that will have your brows raising by next chapter, I promise. ;P And because my schedule's clearing up and the muses are being generous again, that update will be out _much_ faster than the time it took to get out this one. ;P

Let me know what you think, okay? ;) Love you all! ;P

Chapter 3

Dealing With It

A crisp mountain breeze, not warmed by the kiss of the just-rising sun, rustled leaves as it moved over the land. Spring's hold on the land was almost completely gone now, save for a few instances such as these, when the air was clear and not heavy with moisture and heat. Among the creatures that the breeze kissed, bolstering them for the fiery golden haze, was a young girl who sat moodily staring into the depths of a chill blue pool.

It was not the first time that she could be found there—that very morning marked the fifteenth day of her moody meditation—and despite her unwelcoming aura, it appeared that the surrounding nature had grown accustomed to her. Unheeded, a grasshopper was munching an errant green blade that had gotten caught in her hair when she'd lain down, a bird pecked at the half-finished sandwich on her right, and a column of ants traipsed lightly over her toes on their way to the aforementioned discarded nutrition. Her eyes crossed irritably as a butterfly landed on her nose and she blew at it impatiently, waving her hand in a shooing motion when it merely flapped its wings but held firm.

"Bloody bug, get the fuck off my nose," she muttered, actually pinning two wings between her thumb and forefinger and prying the butterfly off her nose. Almost instantly, a burning sensation seared into the bridge and she realized that the damn thing had just sprayed her with its defensive toxin. Swearing and resisting the urge to crush it, she flung it as far away from herself as she could and dug into her pocket for her handkerchief. Getting to her knees, she moved over to the pool in front of her and, after giving it a scowl for good measure, dipped some of it in before rubbing the offending substance off her nose.

Oh yes. As Yusuke Urameshi saw things, it was shaping up to be a fine day.

First the kettle's bottom had given way three days ago and he had no means to prepare hot water. After three days of tolerating his own smell and tolerating the burn of scrubbing off grime with a dry cloth, he'd finally given in and washed in the cold water. Never mind that it was costly and washing in the cold water was a tedious affair, with all the long hair that came with getting splashed by it.

As a boy, it would've been a simple affair. Scrub scalp, rub locks vigorously, rinse. When he'd tried it after the inevitable transformation, he'd sworn for a full minute when his fingers had caught a snag and he'd nearly torn a dime-size part of his hair out by the roots. He'd been determined to cut it off until Genkai had come around and insisted on keeping it on, letting him in on the disconcerting fact that even if he shaved his head, the next time he would transform it would be the same length it was before the shaving. And Yusuke was not about to waste his time ridding himself of something that would be right there again the next time he took a bath. Since Genkai's training was getting harder he wasn't about to compromise cleanliness and the freshness that came with the bite of cold water.

Besides, the old hag actually had fun combing and styling the raven locks, and a part of him didn't want to deny her that pleasure.

_Though that's the same fucking part that got me in this mess in the first place_, he thought bitterly. If he'd have said no to Genkai from the start, he'd probably be home, wrapped up in Keiko's arms, with the assurance and confidence in his masculinity ensconced safely in his person.

Now he didn't even have that.

And Keiko...

His scowl deepened, twisting the beauty of his female face into something that was still attractive yet undeniably repulsive, as he recalled the conversation they'd had a few nights before.

_"Why haven't you been calling me?" she asked quietly, her voice more hurt than angry. _

_"Keiko," he responded tensely, his skin still smarting from the scalding water he'd dumped on himself the instant Ling had come running with a phone call for him, "I've told you. We've been busy with training and this place isn't exactly on the communications map."_

_"It's a tourist spot, isn't it? And how come Genkai has the time to check up on Yukina at the temple, if you two are so busy? The phone can't be too far from where you two are lodged if Mr. Ling could get it to you in under five minutes."_

_"Ling runs fast," he covered lamely, cringing when her tone sharpened._

_**"Yusuke."**_

_He sighed, rubbing a callused hand over his tired eyes. "Keiko," his voice softer and wearier than he'd have liked to let her hear, "it's been rough. You have no idea how many times these past few weeks I've wanted to come home."_

_"We both know that isn't possible." Already he felt her arms wrapping around him, her soft body pressing into his back as she peppered his shoulder with tender kisses. "But we can deal with it, can't we? It's why you should be calling me more often—we promised to maintain contact. I've written you three letters already with no response, and every other time I've called you've been exhausted or Ling and Genkai were unable to find you."_

_Technically, they were more than capable of locating him, but both of them seemed to understand that he wasn't ready to speak with Keiko yet. She wanted to speak to her fiancé—the boy she'd grown up yelling at, worrying over, and ultimately ended up planning her life with. _

_Yusuke couldn't speak to her when he wasn't sure if he was the same person. _

_Dying, becoming spirit detective, discovering his otherworldly lineage—none of those changes compared to realizing the restraint provided by a bra, the amount of effort it took to get one's hair neat, the irrational fits of temper he felt bubbling over petty details his easy-going attitude usually let slide, and as of that day, the horror of waking up with what Genkai dubbed as the "Red Tide."_

_He would never be the same._

_"Is there something you need to tell me?" Keiko persisted when he remained silent. "Genkai told me that she learned a lot of new things when she went on her trip to that place. If you've learned anything, Yusuke, anything that might change what you feel about—"_

_**"NO!"** Yusuke exclaimed vehemently, the horror of what had really taken place on the tip of his tongue as the prospect of truly losing Keiko over this surfaced. Swallowing his panic and the impulse to drop the bomb, he put all of the days he'd spent pining and all of the nights he'd spent dreaming into his voice. "Keiko, I'm more in love with you than I can stand at this point. Things wouldn't be so hard for me if I didn't. Please, don't doubt me on that."_

_He felt like strangling himself when he heard her sniffle softly, but her reply calmed him somewhat. _

_"I won't. But it still bothers me that you won't talk about whatever's troubling you, Yusuke. I told you a long time ago that I could handle whatever quirks you had in store, and I've been true to my word, haven't I? You know I hate being kept in the dark."_

_**Oh, trust me, you'll want to be kept in the dark about this. It's one quirk even I can't handle.**_

_"This is different, Keiko. I can't explain now, and I doubt I'll ever be able to, but just know that I love you and I want nothing better than for you to be happy."_

_"I want nothing better than to be happy **with you**," she stressed with another little sniffle. "But all right—I won't bug you about it." She gave a shaky laugh. "Honestly, I don't even know why I'm so upset over a few letters and phone calls! You'll be back in three weeks anyway. My period always makes me so dramatic. I feel so ashamed now." _

_**That makes two of us on both counts**, his mind ground out grimly. _

_"Don't," he assured her lovingly. "I'm the idiot who's been letting things get to him, and it makes me feel great to be reminded that I have someone who loves me as much. Take care while I'm away, all right?"_

_He felt guilty but relieved that she didn't ask him to call her or reply to her letters. Instead she sent an audible smooch over to him and simply said, "Hurry home."_

"If you're going to be here so early every damn day," came a voice that lost none of its strength despite the slight wheeze he caught, "you might as well train."

"Good morning, Genkai," he murmured, trying to keep the sullenness from his tone and failing miserably.

"Nothing's very good about it, judging from your expression," his mentor commented dryly as she walked up to him and immediately took a seat behind him, her small hands immediately moving to fix his hair.

"Mmmm."

Genkai sighed and shook her head, knowing full well what was bothering him. Had she been in his position, she would have been extremely disturbed as well. But Ling had told her about the phone call Yusuke had received from Keiko a few nights before and she'd expected him to be all right after that.

Apparently, she'd misjudged his powers of comprehension.

Or their conversation hadn't gone very well.

Either way, she knew it was about time she put her oar into her student's current affair, if only to offer him the enlightenment that would make the whole fiasco more bearable. Not only was he going more and more off center in terms of their training, his bond with Keiko was also suffering from his current confusion and insecurity.

"It isn't all _that_ bad, you know," she began lightly. "You'll never look _this_ good as a boy, believe me."

Yusuke's head turned slowly to regard her, brown eyes sparking with fury.

And sparkling with tears.

_Talk about gender-confused_, Genkai shook her head inwardly, seeing the disparity between what the male soul felt and what the female body felt like doing.

"All right, I'll be serious," she averred solemnly, though she knew that her initial statement was serious, though lightly delivered. The way his loose draw-string pants and ribbed tank clung to his curvy female figure surpassed many of the females Genkai had met in her lifetime. And his female face was certainly striking enough.

Especially now that he was listening to her expectantly, his eyes almost doe-like in their vulnerability, lashes moistened by unshed tears. There was a softness in his female face that she had rarely seen on his real one, and that very softness made his female face incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately, it was the same beautifying vulnerability that Genkai had a problem with.

_If it wouldn't kill him to hear it, I'd tell him I'm almost happy he fell into the pool—but only because of the body,_ she admitted to herself grumpily. It had always been one of her many lost dreams to have a daughter—though it would kill _her_ to admit it.

"Like many problems in life, this will affect you only as much as you allow it to." There, that sounded perfectly clear. At least his face wasn't scrounging up in confusion, and that was a green light, wasn't it? "And despite what you may think, it's not in Keiko's hands as it is in yours."

Yusuke's brows contracted at that, and the expected, "What do you mean?" was duly blurted out.

"You think that because of what happened you've changed fundamentally—and perhaps in terms of your viewpoint and body, you have. I have only to look at you now to see you're physically different, and I know that now you'll _never_ call girls whiny about their periods ever again. But you know what I didn't expect to see in you?" Her gaze turned laser as she gave him a critical head-to-toe, focusing on his eyes and boring her glare into them. "I didn't expect to see you _this_ weak, and stupid enough to make yourself this weak."

Predictably, Yusuke's hackles raised at that, his tone indignant and stung as he turned to face her fully.

"Well _excuse me_ if this body isn't as strong as my real one! Whose fault is it that I'm this way in the first place, huh?"

"You silly girl—_guy_—you're missing the point!" Genkai snapped, giving her student a well-deserved smack on the head. "You should have been on guard that day to begin with, and I wasn't even referring to your body! I was referring to _you_—the person in that shell who's allowing this to affect him so much that his performance is suffering so that the accident is for nothing—this whole training trip is for nothing, because you're not progressing anyway! And to make it worse, I can't even send you home early because you're avoiding Keiko!"

"What the hell do you expect me to do, _tell her what happened?"_ he barked furiously. _"It would ruin everything!"_

"Why?" his mentor inquired incisively. "Because she wouldn't want to marry you anymore?"

"Exactly!" Yusuke spat. "Don't tell me being afraid of something like _that_ makes me weak! I know you're a cold old hag, but you should understand what being rejected by someone you love feels like!"

"No, it doesn't make you weak," Genkai admitted, her eyes darkening at Yusuke's lash at her rather lonely life, "it just makes you unbelievably stupid."

"Oh yeah? How exactly?"

"When you got a pair of breasts, did they make Keiko's any less appealing?"

**_"What!"_**

"I'm asking," Genkai clarified calmly, "if your becoming a woman has changed your feelings for Keiko."

"Of course not! And if you go telling anyone otherwise—"

"Oh, shut up and answer me this then—if your feelings haven't changed after this incident, what makes you think Keiko's will?"

Yusuke opened his pretty mouth then closed it, his eyes darkening in contemplation though his brows remained furrowed in uncertainty.

"I...it's different," he argued feebly.

"How is it different?" Genkai persevered, smiling to herself when she saw a glimmer of hope enter his eyes as realization _finally_ began to sink in. "It's not like your situation leaves you forever in a woman's body, and even when you're in it your feelings remain true to Keiko. You haven't begun lusting over other men, have you?"

**_"God, no!"_**

"So then what's the problem? Keiko loves you more than any other person in this world—she's accepted everything about you down to your immaturity, occasional stupidity, and demon lineage. What makes you think she won't accept this little inconvenience?"

Yusuke gave her a bland stare. "I think it's more than a 'little' inconvenience."

"So did your being spirit detective and heir to Raizen, but did Keiko reject you over those issues?"

"No," Yusuke answered in a tiny voice. "But—"

"But you still refuse to understand what so incredibly, _mind-numbingly simple_, Yusuke." Genkai stood up and gave him her most penetrating look. "You made Keiko wait for you while you dealt with the problems your identity have presented you. She's taken that painful experience, as well as accepted and loved you more than as a man, but as a person. Think carefully. Are you going to let her wait any _more_ damn years while you deal with your idiotically-supplemented insecurities?"

Yusuke's mouth tightened into a thin line, but despite the aggressiveness of his expression, she saw the light that was now shining brightly in the depths of his expressive eyes. Thoroughly pleased with herself and looking forward to a more fulfilling few weeks of training, she resisted the urge to punch him again when he sniffed loudly and stubbornly stated, "Fine. But I'm _still_ not going to tell Keiko yet."

**Further Author's Notes:** Crossing my fingers and hoping I don't get deleted for this. To my lovely reviewers!

_Curry:_ I'm so glad you think so! ;P I just wondered how _I_ would react to finding myself with a penis and thought, _Ugh, it would be **awful!**_ ;P Haha! So glad you appreciated that. ;P

_Master Lumine:_ Thanks—I did get an update out, _finally._ Keiko's reaction is about another chapter away, I think, but I promise something as entertaining by next update. ;P Please stay tuned and thank you again! ;P

_AlexChance:_ In the interest of improving my writing, what sentences _would_ you rephrase? ;P I know I write really, really long ones sometimes, and my grammar goes off now and then, so please point them out. ;P And thank you, thank you, thank you! ;P

_Hopeless Wanderer:_ Bwa-ha-ha—you get to see one of those who'll be hooked by him come next chapter! ;P Not _really_ hooked—it would be too weird, but just stay tuned, okay? ;P Thank you so much! ;P

_Kenshin-Battosai:_ Thanks so much! ;P I've read your fic—it's on my favorites, if you've noticed. ;P

_Thunderstorm101:_ Here it is, darling! ;P Long overdue, but here nonetheless! ;P And I like _you_, muchly! ;P Thank you for reviewing! ;P

_SatanStoleMyThrone:_ Thank you very, very much! ;P I'm glad you didn't finalize your opinion of it and gave it a shot—it means a lot to me. ;P

_angel61991:_ Thanks so much, darling! ;P Here's the update. ;P


	4. Wrong Person, Wrong Time Of Month

**Disclaimer**: I don't own YYH—wish I did, but since I don't, whatever ideas I get go here and not into the actual anime...(sigh)...

**Summary**: Yusuke goes on one last training trip with Genkai to China after he gets back from Makai. What happens when he takes a hit to the head and ends up falling into an ordinary-looking pool that turns out to be more than what it looks like? Ranma Parody, please R&R!

**Pairings**: Yusuke/Keiko is the only clear thing for now. :D Or is it? ;;) Hehe—you'll have to find out! XP

**Rating**: T for language—just to be safe. :D

**Author's Note:** (clears throat) How long have you waited? Let us count the days...

Seriously though, HI EVERYONE! I'm so sorry I took so long in updating—despite constant promises of updating quickly. Thus, henceforth I shall promise no more—and hope that you'll simply be patient with me and resist flaming my ass in an attempt to get me moving. I'm really, really sorry!

To make up for it, this chapter is the longest I've written so far—eight pages with the author's notes cut out. There's no direct involvement between Yusuke and the rest of the Reikai Tantei save Genkai—not _directly,_ at least. You'll see, hehe. Just please forgive me for making you wait, and do enjoy what I've brought as a peace offering.

Thank you!

Chapter 4

Wrong Person, Wrong Time Of Month

_Huh. What would Yusuke do without me?_

Genkai could afford to be smug as she watched her pupil's _reiki_ solidifying, converging into her—_his_ being with a fluidity that made the old woman proud. Whatever Yusuke lacked in other kinds of contemplation he made up for in fighting, where his mind, body, and soul made all the right moves and calculations. It was their last week in China and Yusuke was in perfect form, banishing her worries that they would have to extend their stay because he'd spent a good amount of time fretting over his "girl trouble" as she and Ling liked to call his abrupt plunge (pun not intended) into female sexuality.

Now where there had been chaos and misery in his heart there was furious determination that shoved away his lingering fears into the small part of Yusuke's mind that liked to _think about things._ The rest of him was absorbed into what he had come to China for, and that was _not_ a gender problem, it was training.

As she dodged a punch she admired his form and inwardly smiled with approval at how neatly and uncongealed his transition from offense to defense was when she launched her own attack. The _reiki_ that had been concentrated in his fist for the attack dispersed instantly as he guarded for her blows, and she was pleased beyond measure that his _reiki_ was enough for him to brace for the attack. He no longer needed the support of the earth beneath his feet to anchor himself, nor was his physical strength that great of a factor in keeping himself from being forced back. It was delighting.

She also noticed how well his _Mazoku_ powers had incorporated themselves into his _reiki_ and fighting style without necessarily dislodging what had been there previously. The spirit detective whose power she had honed and to whom she had entrusted her own strength had managed to merge what she and his human side had given him with his _Mazoku_ roots. In many cases of such people as Yusuke—though such people were very rare—it was either the fighter prized one kind of power over the other. In Yusuke's case, she had expected him to take on the infinitely more vicious, all-consuming, and ambiguous power attributed to his _Mazoku_ line. Instead he had surprised her and made her proud by finding a mesh for both kinds of power. At the beginning, he had either fought like a spirit detective or a _Mazoku._ Now that he had officially found a way to fight like both at the same time, she considered the goals she had set for his training met.

"You're spacing out, grandma!"

Genkai blinked, then grinned to hide her surprise as she narrowly escaped being crushing into the ground by Yusuke's descending leg. Her pupil whirled, dark brows snapping together worriedly even as he brusquely barbed, "What's the matter? Too hot? You need a nap or something?"

"I was getting a little bored," the spirit master yawned insultingly. "Training with you for the past week has been getting so _routine_."

"Well _excuse me_ for making considerations for your health," Yusuke shot back, huffing indignantly although they both knew that wasn't true. He'd been fighting as hard as though he was in a tournament against the odds again—and the landscape as well as their swelling "damages account" with Ling could attest to that.

"Well, when you get to the top, where else can you go?" Genkai shrugged, still speaking in a flat, bored voice. "That's why they say perfection is boring, kid."

Yusuke blinked, and Genkai earnestly wished she had that camera Keiko had insisted they bring to "cherish" their time in China with—for when they trained, went to eat, toured, etc. Secretly, Genkai had the feeling Keiko wanted to know who Yusuke had been hanging out with in China when they got home and she felt a hysterical swell of laughter as she considered showing Keiko a picture of herself, Yusuke, and Ling.

_Oh yeah, Ling is **certainly** competition for Yusuke's affections,_ she snorted, suppressing a full-blown shout of laughter.

Then again, if she showed Keiko a picture of Yusuke in girl form...

Why _hadn't_ Yusuke been born a girl, she wondered absently. He was certainly pretty enough as a female, and his temperament was certainly more appealing when he was a woman than when he was a guy. As a guy his attitude labeled him as a punk—as girl it was refreshing. She admired her "child" as only a mother could, unable to stop chuckling as a bright strawberry blush colored the soft peach of Yusuke's cheeks and he yanked up a bra strap uncomfortably, clearly not expecting to be called "perfect" in terms of his fighting abilities.

He looked so fetching dressed up as a girl, she sighed wistfully. He'd submitted himself willingly enough to her heretofore unknown makeover fetish and allowed her to cut his long hair several inches shorter after combing became too much of a hassle. The heat was curling the ends and the natural waves looked becoming either tied up or let down. He'd even reluctantly gone shopping with her after a session she'd had to stop because his "jugs" hurt from all the movement. It was a stretch to get him to try on lingerie after his nose bled upon entrance to the shop, so she settled for sports bras (and _one_ pushup), cotton panties, tank tops, and loose-fitting jogging pants. Strangely enough, Yusuke's foot size remained the same as a female, so the need for new training footwear was immediately out. But that didn't mean skipping footwear altogether, she smiled mischievously, remembering the stilettos she had shoved under the unsuspecting Yusuke's bed. They served no purpose and they cost a lot, but could you blame a bored old lady for wanting to dress up a son who had so conveniently undergone a magical sex change?

"You're trying to lure me into a false sense of security," he accused, trying and failing to sound suspicious. He knew a compliment when he heard it—he wasn't _that much_ of an idiot. But it was still hard to internalize that Genkai was saying he'd pretty much learned and mastered it all. It sounded too much like a goodbye—like those scenes in movies with inspirational theme music and the dying master saying something like, "...(cough)...I have nothing more to teach you, my child..."

He pushed the idea away resolutely. So what if she had nothing more to teach him? Teachers didn't kick the bucket just because their students graduated, did they? She'd probably be teaching his children and their children after them.

Children.

_Shit._

How did you get children without a partner? The thought of kids and grandkids had brought forth his favorite mental picture of his fiancée—and how exactly he was going to tell her about his problem.

"_Hey Keiko! Guess what? If you've ever had any lesbian fantasies, well you won't have to worry about cheating on me to fulfill them...when you marry me, you'll actually be getting the best of both worlds, hehe..."_

He shook his head. That was too...he didn't like the idea of Keiko fantasizing about getting it on with other chicks.

_"Hey honey! You know, it's **really** good that they legalized same-sex marriages recently because you won't **believe** what happened in China. Don't worry though, you still get to be the bride..."_

"Yup, training's officially over, then."

He snapped out of his semi-hysterical contemplations and met Genkai's laughing gaze.

"Huh?"

"I already said it, didn't I?" His master lifted a brow imperiously. "I don't want to waste any more of my valuable time—not just because you've learned it all, but because you've got that dumb look on your face that tells me teaching you at this point would be point_less._"

"Huh? Y-You mean we're done?" _We're going home then?_

"Unless you'd rather hang out here with Ling. He's taken quite a _liking_ to you..."

The hint of a pervert flew right over Yusuke's head as panic swelled in his chest.

"But I still feel like a weakling! The time I wasted doing nothing still needs to be made up for! You can't slash out two weeks of training! I _can't_ have learned it all! I mean, w-where's the rush, right?"

Genkai heaved an irritated sigh, but she conceded that she was—as mean as it seemed—relishing the prospect of bringing home a female Yusuke to his fiancée and friends. After all, while the boy (_Girl now, _she corrected, cackling in her mind) had all the best fighting skills and was a lion in a fighting situation, he was still unconfident and woefully unequipped in social situations.

It was time Yusuke learned how to deal with people and fix _social_ problems. After all, he was right. He _hadn't_ learned it all—not yet.

---

Keiko Yukimura was in an especially good mood that day. The patrons and staff of the small but frequented noodle shop felt it almost tangibly as she came down the steps from the family's apartment like a debutante at her coming-out, put on an apron like she was putting on a Prada gown, and went to work like she was painting a masterpiece or serving ambrosia to the gods.

She was _glowing. _Literally. Like a lamp had been turned on underneath, her fair skin looked like it was cast in moonlight and through the fine fringes of her lashes her eyes resembled earth that had seen fresh rain. She was moving about the shop like a moonbeam, her silky brown hair tied back in a forgiving bow, leaving flirtatious tendrils to preen over her face. Slender arms took up trays easily twice her size, gentle hands cleaned up messy tables and the faces of the children who messed them, and she rung up bills and dispensed change with a soft, inexplicably grateful smile on her face.

Business picked up and work got harder, customers got impatient and the staff got defensive. Yet the aura of one who feels truly blessed pervaded the steamy, smoky air, and brought boiling tempers down to a strange simmer.

_Freaky._

Kazuma Kuwabara carefully refrained from voicing the comment out loud, but his boisterous and blunt nature gave him some difficulty. He was one of the regulars at the Yukimura's shop, firstly because he and Keiko went way back, secondly because they served really good, affordable food, and finally because it was a convenient stop on the way home from his university classes, which he had crammed from 6 AM to 1 PM. His mind often went to computer games and boxing come afternoon, and being forced to sit in class when he'd rather be busting faces (literally or otherwise) made him cranky.

And he wasn't the only one like that. He watched Keiko smile soothingly at a particularly loud and hot-headed old man and frowned in confusion. Keiko hated working at the family's shop, as far as he knew. She devoted a lot of time to her studies and a school club (exactly _what_ was it again she'd joined...?), and would usually be neck-deep in books at the library or attending a club activity on the weekend. She'd even considered taking on a part-time job, but given that the university prohibited it the only way for her to help the family was to help with the business. It wasn't so much the work or the people she worked with, but as the old man snarled at her when she approached with his bill, he understood the amount of self-restraint it took not to smash people's faces in at times.

But she didn't seem to be having any trouble at all. He'd seen her on one of her worse days near the midterm examinations with a couple that spilled the food and refused to pay, so he had something to compare to. The crowd was almost as rowdy as it had been on that day, but here was Keiko, smiling in the face of irate, starved consumers.

_Maybe her parents are giving her a raise? No, she doesn't get paid in the first place—that would count as her being a part-timer and that would give her trouble. Hmmm...this is weird. I'm getting creeped out. Maybe I should just pay for the food and—_

"Are you almost through, Kuwabara?" Keiko asked, materializing at his side. Strangling the unmanly shriek that jumped from his vocal cords into an uncomfortable choking sound, he nodded rapidly.She beamed at him, patting his back helpfully as he continued to cough. "Good. Are you busy after?"

Kuwabara's brow crinkled as he took a long gulp of water to soothe his throat.

"Not particularly," he responded. "Why?"

Keiko grinned and unceremoniously slammed the tray she held down on his head, startling the customers with the sound of his skull splitting and the excited shrieking that followed.

**_"YUSUKE'S COMING HOME!"_**

_Poor Kuwabara,_ Keiko's parents thought, their eyes meeting as they chuckled simultaneously. Both of them had a feeling it had to do with Yusuke—not much else had the capacity to get Keiko so exuberantly joyful.

"Did he call you, Keiko?" her mother called out, hoping to stop her as the tray cracked and several pieces flew hazardously into the air.

It did the trick.

Sobering abruptly, Keiko turned away from Kuwabara and worriedly put her hand to her cheek. The remains of the tray fell to the floor unnoticed and her father moved discreetly to find some ice and bandages for Kuwabara's head.

"No, actually," said Keiko, her pretty brows contracting. "I called to ask how he was doing, but Mr. Ling said he'd already brought Yusuke and Genkai to the airport early this morning. I wonder why he wouldn't call me."

"Maybe he's hoping to surprise you?" her mother suggested comfortingly, not wanting Keiko's mood to spiral in the _opposite_ direction. Lord knew she could be as dangerous when she was mad as when she was happy.

"Yeah, I guess so!" Keiko laughed, giggling and blushing. She turned and put her hands on her hips, annoyed that one person was not cooperating with her plans for a wonderful day. "Hey, Kuwabara, wake up! We have to leave in an hour if we're going to be on time to meet Yusuke!"

---

"I am never flying first class with you again," Genkai solemnly promised, casting her young pupil an irritated glance.

Beside her Yusuke growled, shoving a handful of peanuts into his mouth and chomping on them noisily before reaching over to his orange juice and gargling with it prior to swallowing. An elderly couple nearby shot him a scandalized look, but quickly averted their eyes when he looked at them challengingly.

"Stop that!" Genkai hissed. "If either of them have a heart attack, you'll be held responsible!"

"Well _sorry_ for being so bitchy today, Genkai!" Yusuke snapped right back. "It's not my fault this body is so messed up!"

The wife gasped, turning to cast a censorious look on Yusuke regardless of her earlier intimidation. Smiling awkwardly, Genkai smacked Yusuke's head down and leaned in to whisper warningly.

"You idiot, you make it sound like you've been raped! Would you keep your voice down?"

_"Why are you always so mean to me? It's always, 'Yusuke do this' and 'Yusuke do that' and 'Something's wrong with you, you fool'!"_ Yusuke sniffled and Genkai felt her facial muscles tick apprehensively.

This was not good.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry," the spirit master apologized half-sincerely, casting the various pairs of eyes turned in their direction a warning glance. When she was satisfied with the amount of awkward throat-coughing and shuffling newspapers as people duly went back to minding their own businesses, she turned back to her young student. She inwardly cursed Ling for being so clumsy as to insist on drinking his energy drink while driving them to the airport. It was his fault they'd nearly missed their flight, as well as the fact that his hazardous driving had resulted in a little interlude between Yusuke and the energy drink. Thus the plan to have Yusuke leave China as a man (just as he had arrived as a man), went clean out the window. And it just so happened that upon turning into a girl...

Yusuke did not take to menstruation well.

The first time it had happened, he'd simply lain in bed for days, mortified at his situation and unwilling to receive assistance from anyone. He'd taken the cramping reasonably well—but the mood swinging and bouts of irritability were definitely things he needed time to cope with.

And that was _before_ Genkai educated him on tampon usage.

The memory made her smile, and she patted Yusuke soothingly on the head, glad to see the sniffing subside. Pouting adorably, the former spirit detective rubbed the sleeve of his red jacket over his face, rubbing at the tear tracks and his nose. He then remembered that it was his favorite and Keiko had given it to him before the trip. It was embarrassingly adorned with his surname lavishly embroidered on the back, but it being Keiko's gift he had wanted to wear it on his homecoming. It simply felt right to have something she made over his shoulders, on his back. During his more fanciful moments (which, he was loathe to admit, seemed to occur more and more frequently as of late), he liked to think that having the jacket on was like having Keiko's slim arms wrapped around him comfortingly.

Yusuke sniffled dangerously.

"What is it?" Genkai asked worriedly, wondering if it was time to call for a tranquilizer.

Yusuke shook his head, then bit his lip.

"I miss Keiko."

Genkai smirked. "Well you'll be seeing her soon enough. I estimate another hour before we land."

---

"What's taking them so long?" Keiko snapped impatiently, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger as her suddenly sharp, hawk-like eyes pierced the crowd of passengers who were milling through the busy airport. "They landed an hour ago, I'm sure!"

"Um...custom and luggage problems?" suggested Kuwabara carefully, flinching when she turned her blazing gaze in his direction. He learned that despite her earlier cheerfulness, today was _not_ one of Keiko's best anatomical days. If her routine checking of wherever she sat and the glimpse he'd caught of a floral wrapper for a sanitary napkin told him anything, this was in fact one of the more volatile, dangerous days to interact with Keiko. Sure, she was cheery and on Cloud Nine when she knew her boyfriend was coming home, but make him an hour late and Cloud Nine became the Ninth Circle of Hell.

But Kuwabara understood perfectly. Hell, he was just a friend and he'd had plenty to keep him busy and from missing Yusuke, but even he was getting antsy. He stood up, stretching legs that had been useless for the good part of two hours.

Keiko sighed heavily, knowing it wouldn't be fair to snap at Kuwabara for it, particularly when he made a very valid suggestion. Still, she couldn't help herself. She was nearly jumping out of her skin to see him. It had been too long—for both of them, she was sure. He didn't call as much as he had promised he would, and Mr. Ling had been making disturbing inferences like, "Oh, it's his female problem" and had even once said, "They went to buy lingerie." She chalked it up initially to lack of proficiency in Japanese, but that seemed sketchy because she had no problem understanding him at all other than when he spoke so confusingly like that. Perhaps he had been referring to Genkai as Yusuke's "female problem"? Kami knew she gave him a hard time, though it was what was best for him. But what did they go to the lingerie store for?

She shook her head, dispelling the image of Genkai dragging Yusuke to such a shop for him to comment. Heck, the very idea of Genkai trying on lingerie and asking, "How do I look?" was simply...

"Weird."

"I know," Keiko agreed seriously, not realizing that it was Kuwabara who had unwittingly completed her thought for her. "Still, I really want to talk to Yusuke about it. Not now, of course—what kind of fiancée would I be, jumping him with an interrogation the minute he lands? Is Mr. Ling the kind of guy who likes to tease and cause trouble? Surely Genkai would keep Yusuke busy enough to keep him from doing anything..." She flushed indignantly. "Well, Yusuke would _never_ do anything of the sort to begin with! Get a grip—"

"Keiko!"

Kuwabara shook her roughly, cutting into her out-loud tête-à-tête with herself and nearly dislocating her shoulder. It was a very good thing she saw the confused, worried look on his face mid-snarl and she managed to keep herself from knocking his teeth in.

"What?" she asked, hopping up and down uselessly as she attempted to see what Kuwabara's height gave him the privilege of spying.

"Here," he offered, releasing her arm in favor of taking her by the waist and lifting her onto a seat.

"Where?" asked Keiko excitedly and impatiently when she still didn't see what had Kuwabara interested.

Kuwabara lifted his hand, pointing to the customs block where it was yet again exceptionally crowded. Keiko squinted, deciding that despite her size, it would be easier to locate—

"Genkai!" she cried excitedly, spotting a child-like figure with faded pink hair and dark traditional attire handing her papers to the bespectacled customs' agent while security scanned her things.

"Where's Urameshi, though?" Kuwabara asked, making known what had bothered instead of elated him at the sight of Genkai. "Don't tell me Genkai came alone. Maybe Yusuke just brought her over to the airport then went back to train by himself?"

Keiko's brows snapped together, the hope in chest suddenly pierced by Kuwabara's suggestion. She felt her throat constrict painfully and she watched as Genkai passed through customs and the next person stepped up.

A person who was not Yusuke.

It was a pretty girl who leaned towards the customs' agent and whispered something that clearly made the agent uncomfortable. If his body language and the vibrant strawberry blush on his cheeks was anything to go by, she had just said something extremely embarrassing. Still, the agent was nodding furiously and stamping the girl's passbook like nothing was wrong. The girl grinned at him and walked forward, collecting her things from security. She seemed to have a lot of stuff—security had just lowered the fifth bag to the floor to make room for the next passenger's things. Keiko turned her eyes away from the curious girl and looked towards the next passenger.

Who was, yet again, _not Yusuke._

"Where _is_ he?" she whispered, worriedly, bitter disappointment gnawing at her stubborn hope.

Kuwabara was not deaf to the catch in her voice, and ever the gentleman he racked his brains for some thought that would dispel the gloom that was quickly settling over his friend.

"Um...hey, maybe he got in _before_ Genkai!" Kuwabara slapped his hand to his forehead, craning his neck further to try and locate the spirit master as more and more people passed through customs.

"No, he has to be after," Keiko answered, though her voice was brighter. "See, there's Genkai and she seems to be waiting for someone!"

She pointed in the direction of the small old woman, who was indeed tapping her foot impatiently. Of course Yusuke was here. It was unthinkable that only Genkai would return to Japan. After all, what reason did Yusuke have to stay behind in China? _She_ was in Japan. And she was one-hundred-and-fifty percent sure that wherever she was, Yusuke would want to be.

But the person who walked up to Genkai carrying an armload of bags was, horrifyingly, _not Yusuke. _She stared, a numbness seeping into her chest as Kuwabara's loud words about baseless worries faded into a shocked silence.

It was the girl who'd come right after Genkai, and Keiko watched with growing tension as Genkai evidently said something explosive that caused the girl to gasp in outrage and drop one of the bags she was carrying. Clearly pissed, she dropped all of the bags she was carrying and bent over, trying to stuff one of the smaller bags into one of the larger ones and make handling them all easier.

When she did so, Keiko saw the dark stitching on the back of the girl's jacket—which she then noticed was red.

"Kuwabara," Keiko whispered softly, her own voice inaudible against the roaring in her ears and the pounding in her chest. "Why is that girl wearing Yusuke's jacket?"

---

"Man, customs' is a bitch," Yusuke complained loudly, stomping on the small bag when it refused to sink into the large duffel containing his clothes. At the offended sound the customs' agent made, Yusuke turned back to him, winking apologetically. The young man flushed, stamping his own hand in his flustered state. Yusuke suppressed a chuckle. After all...

_"...um...Mr. Urameshi?" the young man asked uncertainly, staring down at the cocky grin of the male in the passbook and looking up at the sparkling features of the young woman in front of him._

_"Any problems, sir?" she asked with a friendly smile, dimples showing in her smooth cheeks. _

_"Ah...er...w-well...Miss...i-is this yours?" _

_He held up the passbook, indicating the picture of the young man awkwardly._

_The young woman laughed, her eyes widening comprehendingly._

_"Oh, **that**," she snickered. Leaning forward, she whispered—her voice lower by several alarming octaves—"I went to China to have a sex change."_

"Hey!" Genkai exclaimed, annoyed. "Those are your toiletries! There's some stuff in there that might break and ruin the bag—_and_ your clothes!" Whapping Yusuke in an annoyed motion, she yanked the crushed bag from beneath his foot. "And stop teasing him!"

Privately, she had to give Yusuke props for what he had just pulled. As a girl, Yusuke's voice was low and sexy—but definitely a woman's. How he had managed to make himself sound like a messed up Kuwabara to get through customs' was inspired. It was funny how she had never considered the problem before boarding the plane. They'd considered changing him back into a boy before landing, but what would that look like to the other passengers when it had been a _girl_ that had boarded? Hell, it was a good thing the customs back in China had been so crowded and their rush for the plane so frantic that the difference between the Yusuke in the flesh and the Yusuke in the passbook had been missed. If she hadn't planned that out then she really was getting old...

"Well if it's such a big deal, _you_ carry it then," Yusuke grumbled, a bit put off that she was killing his fun. Zipping up the duffel he reached for the rest of their things and heaved them up, obeying Genkai's command dutifully and resisting the urge to turn back and tease the customs' agent some more.

"This makeup is _expensive_, you know," Genkai lectured, surprised that now that she'd taught Yusuke the serious things she was now focusing on trivial things. "The Xi Wangmu Peach Cream is almost 50,000 yen!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Then that's the first thing I'm giving to Keiko."

**Further Author's Notes:** First of all, my thank-you-s: (let's hope no one takes me down for it)

_inu-yusukekaiba102:_ ...uwaa. (sniff) I took _really_ long this time, I'm so sorry! I really hope you liked this one, and thank you for reviewing. ;)

_Kenshin-Battosai:_ Sorry I haven't reviewed your story lately—I'll get to it ASAP. It's been a busy semester, but I'm on break now, so I'll go straight to reading and commenting. Thank you for reading and commenting on mine—I'm so glad you liked it. :)

_Kuramastrass –Keiko Minamino-:_ Well, I did it!—only "later" instead of "now"—so I hope you still like it and think it's great. (crosses fingers) Thanks so much! ;)

_NebuNeferu:_ TA-DA! ;) The update is here—very, very, inexcusably late, but here! ;) I'm hoping you like it—and do comment. I'm interested in learning what you think of the plot direction I took. This isn't the whole of it yet—I'll substantiate it more come next chapter, but let me know what you think so far. ;) Thank you! ;)

_Thunderstorm101:_ You're very welcome, and I'm very happy you like it! ;) Thank you for your support! ;)

_DarkWolves Faith:_ Well, there's more Yusuke/Keiko-ness in here—but as you've read, with a darker twist. Hehe...hope you like it just the same. There's more come next chapter. Thank you for your support! ;)

I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think. Next up: Kurama and Hiei's entrance. ;) Don't we all want to know what's going to happen? ;) So quick, click the review button and be internet hounds on my heels for the update. ;) I don't run fast. Heehee...(wink) ;)


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